Add your pearls of wisdom, based on experience.

8valve

Experienced cyclist or bike mechanic?


Drop some one-liner advice here for people that may be starting out, now that we've got plenty of time on our hands!!


Try to stay on topic and base it on your own experience.


I'll start the ball (wheels?) rolling...


Invest in some padded shorts or under-shorts for cycling; they make a world of difference for comfort.


Don't gauge your cycling ability against more experienced cyclists; it's very easy to get disillusioned. Strength and stamina will come. Be patient with yourself. If you only go out and do a couple of miles on a bike once a week, you are a cyclist! Be proud of the fact.



Have someone who knows what they're doing service your bike regularly - e.g. trying to get a few years out of a chain often means an expensive full drivetrain replacement.


Keep your tyres pumped..hard. The bike is easier to cycle and less likely to puncture.


Avoid dropping, laying or leaving your bike fall on the drive (right) side; I've fixed numerous bikes where the gears have become entangled in the rear wheel because of this, causing catastrophic damage...the most expensive one was over €2000..!

Johnny Jukebox

Cheap, light, strong - pick any 2.

SwissToni

Only one thing you need to know, Glasses OVER your helmet straps😆

dahat

Disagree with tyre advice, pump for time of year & surface..

No drop policy in clubs is a myth!!!

who_ru

The ideal number of bikes to own is N+1, N being the number of bikes you currently own.

rurs

It doesn't get easier, you just get faster.

Cee-Jay-Cee

New expensive wheels, upgrading groupset or bike won’t make you faster. Training and cycling regularly will.

I have 3 road bikes, a €4500 S-Works Roubaix, an Felt VR30 gravel bike which cost me €1500 and an entry level Cube Attain with 8 speed Claris groupset which I bought for €240 (although it was brand new never used when I bought it). My training spin is a 36km loop...I can do the loop at more or less the same speed/effort on all 3 bikes with less than 1min between my fastest times on each of them.

Just proves a bike is only as fast as you can pedal it.

ednwireland

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

New expensive wheels, upgrading groupset or bike won’t make you faster. Training and cycling regularly will.

that sir is absolute balderdash

we all know its all about the bike !!!!!;);):D:D:D:D:D:D:D

hesker

The more annoying the click the longer it takes to find what’s causing it.

cletus

You can wear ankle socks when cycling.

Also, start working on your bike. They're not that complicated, and if you buy a tool when you need to do a job, you'll quickly build up a concurrent set of skills and tools

CramCycle

cletus wrote: »

You can wear ankle socks when cycling.

No you can't.

My advice, depending on your personality in regards bike cleaning, if your OCD, do it regularly and get the most for your buck and OCD relief. If you are a person that needs a reward, do it rarely, the joy of a drivertrain that is cleaned after a long break, how much nicer it sounds, how slightly faster you are is wonderful (I am the latter). I personally believe a clean bike is a sign of an unhealthy mind.

endacl

Black socks = black heart.

07Lapierre

creaking noises are never from the bottom bracket!

f1000

Learn how to fix things. Look at maintenance videos. Buy the tools. DIY and save money.

TheBlaaMan

'Dont buy upgrades, ride up grades'. Sage words from some Belgian dude who won a few races back when.....

Keep you bike clean, especially all the moving parts: 5 minutes with a wash-down after a spin will make it more enjoyable next time you go out, and it will uncover issues that you can fix in time to ensure you can head out next time

Learn how to adjust gears, fit a spare tube, fix a puncture, adjust brakes (maybe leave hydraulics for a bit.......)

Buy the best quality tools you can - they will last you a lifetime and not let you down just when you need them

Seth Brundle

Keep away from the left of the road - stay about 1m from the kerb if possible.
When coming to a stop, change down to an appropriate gear before you stop.
Buy a decent pair of shorts

Takca

Don't leave it to the last second to clip out

A good bike takes time to reveal itself.

fat bloke

"PEDAL DOWN THE HILL!!!!"

saccades

Tyre pressure as low as you can before they feel squirmy.


Better to be looking at it than for it.

Never trust a dog with orange eyebrows.

monkeyslayer

time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana

magicbastarder

8valve wrote: »

Keep your tyres pumped..hard. The bike is easier to cycle and less likely to puncture.

saccades wrote: »

Tyre pressure as low as you can before they feel squirmy.

at least we have consistency!

Weepsie

Buy a turbo trainer, just in case.

Harrybelafonte

cletus wrote: »

You can wear ankle socks when cycling.

Only on track, especially indoors, where even no socks may be an option depending on temperature

The inner ring is only for warming up

dastardly00

SwissToni wrote: »

Only one thing you need to know, Glasses OVER your helmet straps😆

Ah here Swiss, I was expecting your advice to be more along the lines of this from you...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxWnQBbIDgQ

cjt156

20g of carbon fibre won't offset 5kg of gut.





Speaking from experience...:-(

Thargor

rurs wrote: »

It doesn't get easier, you just get faster.

Why do people say this? Of course it gets easier, hills that were impossible once and required you to get off and walk become the easy bit on the way to the mountains etc, 100km rides become normal weekend activities when previously they were physically impossible. It's just such a strange phrase to be in common use for a sport like cycling.

cletus

One more post about working on your bike. Everything bike related seems to be expensive. Tools too. For generic tools like spanner, Allen keys, torx etc, don't pay the premium for a badge like park tools, when there are plenty of other good quality options out there, at a lesser price

magicbastarder

Thargor wrote: »

It's just such a strange phrase to be in common use for a sport like cycling.

it's a famous greg lemond quote.

eeeee

Thargor wrote: »

Why do people say this? Of course it gets easier, hills that were impossible once and required you to get off and walk become the easy bit on the way to the mountains etc, 100km rides become normal weekend activities when previously they were physically impossible. It's just such a strange phrase to be in common use for a sport like cycling.

It doesn't really though, cos you go faster! If you continue to go at the same speed you did before you got fit then yes, it's easier, but as you get fitter you go faster and the faster you go the harder it is!
It is much, much easier to suffer when you're lighter and fitter than if you're not though.

lamaq

Confucius say, start hill like old man finish like new one.